


Who needs love

by moneden



Category: Day6 (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Falling In Love, Fluff, Jieun is the bestfriend we need but don't deserve, M/M, Mentions of Junhyeok, Park Jaehyung | Jae-centric, Past Relationship(s)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-16
Updated: 2020-03-16
Packaged: 2021-02-28 23:53:05
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,805
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23175736
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moneden/pseuds/moneden
Summary: Because who needs love, who needs someone to overwhelm their thoughts, heart, only to leave them, only to break them? Jaehyung doesn’t. At least that’s how he’s trying to convince himself.
Relationships: Kang Younghyun | Young K/Park Jaehyung | Jae, Kim Wonpil/Park Jaehyung | Jae, Park Jaehyung | Jae/Park Sungjin, Park Jaehyung | Jae/Yoon Dowoon
Comments: 9
Kudos: 48





	Who needs love

**Author's Note:**

> Apart from being terrible at titles and summaries, I haven't written in so long and this is probably terrible but I got loosely inspired by [this amazing edit I saw on my timeline](https://twitter.com/panickedjae/status/1238809518818988032)  
> Please stream <3  
> We all need more Jae-centric fics
> 
> WARNING! Un-Beta'ed cause I got no friends.

Who needs love?

It’s a question that Jaehyung always seems to ask himself, ever since he remembers. Because who needs love, who needs someone to overwhelm their thoughts, heart, only to leave them, only to break them? Jaehyung doesn’t. At least that’s how he’s trying to convince himself.

“You’re staring at him again”

But it doesn’t mean he always follows what his head tells him to do. Because as much as he wishes he could, Jaehyung cannot control his feelings.

“I’m not” he huffs, looking in another direction, back at Jieun.

Jieun who’s always been there for him, through every heart crisis he has had. She’s been there, consoling him. She saw him cry, punch his pillow, eat ice cream or not at all, play video games until his eyes literally gave up on him.

The boys came and went from his life but Jieun remained a constant in the equation defining Jaehyung’s life. And he couldn’t possibly be luckier to have such a best friend.

Even if it hurts when she calls him out.

“I know those eyes, Park Jaehyung” there’s simultaneously amusement and concern in her eyes and for a moment, Jaehyung struggles to analyze whether it’s good or not “You stop staring at that guy right now, I can’t afford cleaning after your ice cream vomit again”

Jaehyung groans. It happened once.

It happened after Park Sungjin.

Jaehyung was in high school. Sungjin was in the same English class and never failed to make the whole room laugh, teacher included. As diligent as he was, he never lacked wit that matched his bright eyes. Bright eyes that killed Jaehyung each time he looked into them, sparkling with fascination at new words and acronyms Jaehyung unveiled, kindly helping him practice English after class, Jaehyung being the most fluent in the whole class. In return, Sungjin would offer him a snack or recommend a place to eat at. But really, his payment was the flutter of Jaehyung’s heart whenever he smiled and patted the taller on his back.

Jieun saw it all. She saw Jaehyung smile with hearts painting themselves behind his glasses. It was adorable. And for a moment, it seemed like Sungjin could see them too. Because sometimes, just sometimes, Jieun swore she saw his hand linger on Jaehyung’s shoulder, smile turn just a little softer. And it could have worked out. Only if Sungjin hadn’t moved back to Busan because of his sick father, two months before the summer break.

And just as the Sun started coming out, shadows painted Jaehyung’s face into a solemn heartbreak. Hot weather meant ice cream flavors flooding stores and mixing with Jaehyung’s sobs as he whined around the spoon, watching whatever poor drama was on TV. Ice cream also meant Jaehyung’s stomach being upset and returning all the milky goods when Jieun hugged him a little too close.

“Yeah, who needs love, anyway?” he chuckled, half-sniffling with a weird bitter taste on his tongue.

“You know I never eat more than a tub now. But whatever, mom” he rolls his eyes as he sees her gather her things. He should get going, too. After all, he has deadlines to meet for tomorrow. And the day after. And then another day – How come somehow he has more tasks than days in the week?

Or maybe he doesn’t. He just procrastinates until the very last few days. Healthy stress kick, he calls it.

Jieun calls it being INTP behavior or whatever personality shit she’s onto at the moment.

Not like Jaehyung believes her, because he does love his spreadsheets. He usually has everything written down, keeps track of tasks, deadlines, class – it’s just that lately class has been a little too tough to focus on. That, and maybe it’s been difficult to focus in the library when a terribly attractive boy always seemed to visit at the same time as Jaehyung, just as if he purposefully wanted to distract Jaehyung.

He shoves his notebook back into his backpack, slings it over his shoulder and makes the beeline after Jieun, leaving the library. He doesn’t see a pair of eyes walking him back.

“You look so shitfaced right now”

“Subtle as always”

Jieun laughs into his face.

So what, maybe he did end up pulling an all-nighter to finish his report. Maybe he did turn it in an hour before the deadline but he did finish it. He’s okay, he just needs coffee. Hefty amounts. But he’s alright. He’s sure Jieun is exaggerating.

“Did you forget that I saw you wasted crying in the bathtub?”

Jaehyung sighs. Of course he didn’t. As they sit down in the café, laptops open, his thoughts wander off.

Dowoon’s apologetic expression haunts him and even the amount of alcohol he drank that night couldn’t dissolve it. Probably because Dowoon was an angel and Jaehyung felt so stupid making him uncomfortable. Quiet yet soft, shy yet so easy-going. It was no surprise that Jaehyung liked him. Everyone did. But Jaehyung was lucky enough to be able to befriend Dowoon through a mutual friend, Junhyeok. They were always hanging out, three of them, sometimes others joining them. It was a fresh start – new college, new year, new me. And Jaehyung was focused on making the best impression, on not letting any boy shake his heart.

Jieun still tells him that she had called it. But she doesn’t understand.

Because she was never alone with Dowoon, she didn’t see the heart-fluttering softness with which he spoke, the way his ears turned red when he was shy, when his and Jaehyung’s fingers brushed together on the accident. She wasn’t there when Dowoon carried Jaehyung’s book, when he checked on him and laughed so brightly, showing pictures and videos of his cats.

No, she only saw Jaehyung crying after the party where he saw Dowoon kissing a girl with a smile. Right before pulling away from her and meeting Jaehyung’s eyes, only to form the most apologetic expression. As if he knew. As if he always wanted to say I’m sorry but didn’t know when to.

She didn’t have the heart to pull him out of the tub, so she just sat next to Jaehyung, letting him sniffle into her petite shoulder. “Who needs love…” he mumbled in between the hiccups and drunken giggles.

Their backs hurt too much when they woke up the next day, squeezed into Jaehyung’s bathtub, Junhyeok giving them a questioning look.

“Earth to Jae?”

“You still look uglier than me when drunk” he scrunches his nose up when he’s back to reality and ready to order himself Americano.

“Who the heck drinks Americano?” is what she mutters but Jaehyung doesn’t care. He’s used to bitterness.

“I like a boy”

Now, Jaehyung has never thought he’d hear that from Jieun. Jieun, who’s always bragged about women being superior. Not that he disagrees. He’s just surprised.

“You what?” Very surprised.

“He’s like– Perfect? I know, it’s ridiculous because it’s your species and look at you” Ouch? “But really, he’s something else”

Jaehyung’s intrigued, spending the rest of their night listening to Jieun’s rambled about a fox-eyed guy while drinking beer and snacking on pizza. He’s happy for her.

But at the same time, it makes him think about the handsome boy from the library. Could he be happy like Jieun, too?

“Why don’t you just walk up to him and say hi?” it’s one of their days at the library, when Jieun catches his eyes wandering off to the boy again.

“You’re saying that as if you talked to Mister Fox on the regular” by now, Jaehyung’s happy he’s managed to find a trap to make Jieun flustered after all those years.

“I…Actually talked to him today” now, Jaehyung didn’t expect that. He’s perplexed. He wants to be proud of her and he is but at the same time, there exists a certain subtle patch of jealousy of her bravery.

“How was it?” he asks in no time, leaning over the table, ears ready to listen.

“I…Uhm, told him you and me study every Thursday in the café and maybe I invited him to study with us?” Jaehyung notices the blush that wasn’t initially applied with make up dusting itself across Jieun’s cheeks. He almost thinks it’s adorable.

Does he mind? Not really. Though he doesn’t necessarily fancy the idea of being a third wheel.

But then, Jieun’s always been there for him. It’s high time he was there for her, too.

“Sure, just make sure not to type too many heart emojis in your report” she slaps his shit-eating grin away by punching his shoulder. Jaehyung winces dramatically.

And feels his heart flutter when he hears a subtle chuckle from the boy two shelves away. Or it flutters when their eyes meet and the boy smiles at him. He’s unsure.

Fuck. It definitely races when Jaehyung sees him approaching them. He’s coming closer, Jaehyung is pretty sure he’s not daydreaming and–

“You should be a little more quiet, it would be a pity if they kicked you out” his voice is so soft and warm and holy fuck did he just flirt with Jaehyung?

The smile remains imprinted in his head even after the boy walks away and leaves a speechless Jaehyung and a very amused Jieun.

“Here’s your first step, tiger” Jaehyung feels like dying.

Turns out Mister Fox is actually named Younghyun. When Jaehyung sees him for the first time, he comes a little rushed, a little late and pries Jaehyung’s attention away from the code he has been writing to get his application going, Jieun writing her article neatly on her laptop, right across him. And he has to admit, he can see why Jieun likes those fox-eyes. They’re sharp, nearly intimidating, but the way they soften under Younghyun’s sheepish, apologetic smile is somewhat precious.

“Sorry, my front door acts up sometimes and I couldn’t close it for the love of god, had to wait for my roommate to help me out” he sighs and settles his laptop and cup down.

He’s drinking Americano. Jaehyung blinks.

Younghyun seems to notice their matching drinks and offers Jaehyung a friendly smile. He can feel Jieun melting right in front of him while he awkwardly smiles back at Younghyun.

Soon enough, Younghyun becomes the permanent addition to their Thursday sessions and if anything, Jaehyung must admit he admires Jieun for not falling behind her studies and managing to stay focused when Younghyun is around. And maybe, just maybe, Jaehyung becomes fond of Younghyun, too. It turns out he’s one year below him yet for some odd reason, knows more than Jaehyung and helps pointing out inconsistencies in his code, suggests solutions and even shows him programming related memes. He’s an overall good guy. Jaehyung’s happy for Jieun.

Though, a part of him still feels a little guilty when him and Younghyun hang out alone. It’s always on an accident. They meet coincidentally at the same spot, end up noticing each other and talking hours away. Younghyun walks him back home when it’s late, offers him umbrella when it rains. His eyes are deceiving for how gentle he is and Jaehyung understands why Jieun likes him so much.

“Ah, shit, I forgot my charger. Let me ring up my roommate” an inevitable groan escapes Younghyun when his laptop is visibly dying in their favorite café, cups of coffee and tea (“A healthier option that still keeps you awake, it’s been scientifically proven” says Younghyun) surrounding them.

Approximately 15 minutes later, Jaehyung hears a voice so soft he couldn’t mistake it and his heart nearly jumps out of his chest.

“Kang Younghyun, you’re really terrible” the library boy laughs as he hands Younghyun his charger before noticing Jaehyung and smiling that bright smile with a hint of subtle teasing that Jaehyung can’t help but to feel his cheeks burning.

“Guys, this is Wonpil, my roommate. Wonpil, this is Jieun and Jae” Younghyun introduces them briefly and Jaehyung swears that he sees tiny little sparkles dancing in Wonpil’s eyes.

“Ah, so you’re Jae?” Wait, what? “I’ll see you guys around, I have a novel to finish”

He leaves them and Jaehyung as pink and confused as ever.

Jaehyung’s so perplexed that he doesn’t notice Younghyun’s eyes lingering on him.

( Neither does he notice Jieun looking between them )

Somehow, it becomes four of them. It turns out Jaehyung’s unsure who’s more annoying between the two – Younghyun or Wonpil – but he sure does know Wonpil likes to tease him a little too much. He blames it on being unable to stop himself from getting flustered easily. It’s just as if as time goes by, he’s liking Wonpil a little less every day and starts to bicker with him a little more. Oddly enough, Jieun stops gushing over Younghyun, too. Jaehyung figures that neither of them needs love, right?

“Stop flirting right in front of my salad, I’m trying to be healthy” Wonpil reprimands him and Younghyun one day when they laugh over memes they’re sharing. Jaehyung genuinely doesn’t understand why and proceeds to flip Wonpil off. Younghyun goes back to coding.

“So what’s up with you and Younghyun?” he finally finds the moment to ask Jieun when they’re both sprawled on the couch, a random episode of Adventure Time playing on her laptop.

“Yeah, turns out I’m too gay for that. He did help me hook up with his friend, though” she chuckles and quite frankly, Jaehyung feels offended for not being updated on such important information.

“And I guess so is he”

Jaehyung wonders why his heart does a weird flip after Jieun’s words for the rest of the night.

He understands it two weeks later.

As if it was heaven’s joke yet again, Jaehyung and Younghyun are at the same bar on a Saturday night. And as usual, they end up talking, laughing over a drink or two until it’s late and Younghyun offers to walk Jaehyung back home.

Compared to the bar, it’s oddly quiet between them but somehow, Jaehyung finds undeniable comfort in the silence. Their steps fall into perfect synchronization, melody that creates the beat to the faint sounds of cars passing the streets. For a moment, Jaehyung focuses on creating the beat a little too much that his long limbs don’t cooperate and he stumbles and falls – Except that he doesn’t. Because apparently, Younghyun’s reflex wasn’t dulled by the alcohol and he grabs Jaehyung’s arm, pulling him protectively against his chest. And Jaehyung’s breath hitches.

He looks up at Younghyun and his head inevitably feels dizzy. Because Younghyun is so close, he emits warmth that contrasts way too perfectly with the chill night and Jaehyung notices every detail on his face even after drinking. He’s seen Younghyun hundreds of times, knows the sound of his voice, the way his nose scrunches up and where his moles lie, he knows that sharp line of his fox eyes and knows how warmth pools within them, how stars twinkle across them when Younghyun gets excited.

His eyes are so expressive and the way he looks at Jaehyung in this moment, the way his arms wrap themselves around Jaehyung’s waist either to hold him close or not to let him stumble again, makes his heart do a weird flip again.

Younghyun smiles at him and Jaehyung understands why.

“Hi” they say at the same time and Younghyun’s laughter fills the silence when Jaehyung’s cheeks warm up.

“Are you okay, Jae?” the tenderness of Younghyun’s voice pulls at the strings of his heart and not trusting his voice, Jaehyung nods.

“Good. Hold onto me, I’ll keep you safe” And Jaehyung trusts him.

Younghyun walks him back home with an arm around his waist and warmth hugging his heart in the silent night.

They part ways when Jieun opens the door and gives Younghyun a knowing smile, thanking for bringing Jaehyung back home. “Took you long enough” a soft chuckle leaves her lips when she looks at Jaehyung’s face, knowing everything all too well already. Younghyun rolls his eyes fondly and bids them goodnight.

Turns out Jaehyung doesn’t need to tell her because just like the constant she is, Jieun notices and understands. For some odd reason, she doesn’t feel upset, either and as much as it confuses Jaehyung, he’s just as thankful. She remains by his side with warm encouragement and affectionate teasing.

Who needs love?

Jaehyung concludes that everyone does. Love in the way Sungjin was eager to learn, love in the way Dowoon wanted to look out for him. Love in the way Wonpil cares for him, love in the way Jieun never leaves.

Who needs love?

Jaehyung knows he does when Younghyun kisses him for the first time under the moonlight, hiding from the rain in one of the dimly lit alleys.

**Author's Note:**

> Can you tell I totally wrote it in one go as an act of sudden inspiration, given the total lack of the plot- skjhfsjkfls  
> If you by any chance liked it, please leave me prompts [here](https://curiouscat.me/moneden), I'm bored and I want to do a lot of practice to write better.


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